work life issues in america 2008

Kyra Cavanaugh, [email protected]

Liz Ryan, President [email protected]

Excerpt fromFlexing, Floundering, or ‘Just Fine Thanks’:

Work/Life Issues in America WebinarOctober 28, 2008

© Life Meets Work Inc 2008

Who is Life Meets Work?

Launched Life Meets Work in 2008 after nearly 20 years in the consumer packaged goods industry. Worked in flexible arrangements throughout career.

Works with companies to leverage workplace flexibility to improve their productivity and profitability.

lifemeetswork.com offers information, resources, advice, community and a job board to flexible workers and the companies that employ them.

The Life Meets Work team is made up of flexible workers, and manages for performance.

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Kyra CavanaughPresident and FounderLife Meets Work Inc.


Who is Ask Liz Ryan?

Liz Ryan is a former Fortune 500 HR VP and one of the most widely-read and well-respected workplace commentators in the U.S.

She is the workplace columnist for Business Week, Yahoo! HotJobs’ Networking Expert and BBC Radio’s Workplace commentator.

Her columns reach over 40 million readers per month.

She advises corporations on their talent acquisition and retention efforts and on leadership issues related to the global, diverse and virtual workplace.

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Liz RyanPresidentAsk Liz Ryan


Welcome

Our goals for today:

To review survey results

Share flexible workplace successes

Discuss implications

Q&A

Continue the discussion:

Join one of our flexible work groups

Download white paper

Listen to webinar rebroadcast

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Survey Background

In recognition of October is National Work and Family month.

Life Meets Work and Ask Liz Ryan launched survey to determine the attitudes of American workers and companies around flexible work the role of government in work/life issues.

Online survey ran from October 7 – October 20, 2008.

684 people responded.

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Five Key Takeaways

Working Americans are struggling to manage work life priorities and want both company and government support.

Employers are open to government playing a role in work life issues.

Flexibility is offered by a majority of companies, most often in the form of accommodation.

Employees feel that employers have not gone far enough in helping them manage their work life issues.

Implementing a success flexible workplace is a matter of changing the way we think.

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Americans are Managing Conflicting

PrioritiesAmericans are managing multiple priorities in their lives involving home, family, work, illness, financial and job security.

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What is your biggest work/life concern?


Most Have Some Level of Flexibility at Work

While employees acknowledge some level of flexibility offered by their employers, only 20% felt their employer was supportive of work/life issues.

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Which statement best describes your employer?


They Want Government to Help

71% of workers said government should pass legislation to support work/life issues.

Which areas should be included in legislation?

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What should be the biggest work/life priority of the next U.S. president?


They Want Government to Help

78% support Working Families Flexibility Act.

56% believe that caregivers should be protected from employment discrimination by the EEOC.

55% want government to get involved in monitoring and regulating corporate work/life programs at some level.

Some even made suggestions about the role government should play:

“Provide subsidies for companies that are willing to provide better provisions for employees with children.”

“Give tax breaks to those companies that offer flexible work environments.”

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Employers Agree that Government Should Play a Role

62% said government should pass legislation to support work/life issues.

Legislative programs were fairly evenly matched.

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Legislated Work/Life Areas


Employers Agree that Government Should Play a Role

63% support Working Families Flexibility Act.

Only 36% believe that caregivers should be protected from employment discrimination by the EEOC.

Employers were evenly split regarding government’s involvement monitoring and regulating corporate work/life programs.

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Most Companies Offer Some Form of Flexibility

77% said they offer flexible work programs.

Reason for not offering flexible work programs? 64% said they accommodate requests on an informal basis.

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Most Popular Flexibility Programs


But Expansion Appears Unlikely

In our survey, 57% of companies surveyed said they had no plans to add flexible work programs next year.

Two recent SHRM studies have shown similar results:

Only 20% of organizations surveyed were planning to implement work/life policies.*

They saw no significant rise in the number of employers with flexible work or family friendly benefits.**

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*SHRM Workplace Forecast Report**SHRM 2008 Employee Benefits Report


The Business Case for Flexibility is Clear

The impact of flexible workplaces on tangible business results is clear and well-documented*:

Attract the best talent

Improve customer loyalty

Reduce employee turnover

Improve productivity

Improved share price

Save money in utilities, overhead

Increase profitability

Reduce carbon footprint

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*To get specific case studies, visit our site: Fostering Flex/Research reports


Continue the Conversation

Webinar rebroadcast and white paper

Presentation for your company or group

Flexible workplace assessment

On-site Flexible Work seminars and workshops

“How Flexible is Your Workplace?”

“Building a Virtual Flexible Team”

Custom workshops that suit your needs

Online discussions for flexible work topics

www.lifemeetswork/community

www.asklizryan.com/group

Linked In Groups: The Flexible Workplace and Ask Liz Ryan

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